The "Disgrace of Gijon" is the name given to a 1982 FIFA World Cup football match played between West Germany and Austria at the El Molinón stadium in Gijón, Spain, on 25 June 1982. The match was the last game of the first-round Group 2, with Algeria and Chile having played the day before. With the outcome of that match already decided, a win by one or two goals for West Germany would result in both them and Austria qualifying at the expense of Algeria, who had defeated West Germany in the first game. West Germany took the lead after 10 minutes, after which the remaining 80 minutes was characterized by few serious attempts by either side to score. Both sides were accused of match-fixing, although FIFA ruled that neither team broke any rules.

As a result of this, and similar events at the previous World Cup in Argentina, FIFA revised the group system for future tournaments, so that the final two games in each group would be played simultaneously.[1] In German, the match is known as Nichtangriffspakt von Gijón (lit. "Non-aggression pact of Gijón") or Schande von Gijón (lit. "Disgrace of Gijón"),[2] while in Algeria it is called فضيحة خيخون (faḍīḥa Khīkhūn, "Scandal of Gijón"); it is also called the Anschluss (in reference to the unification of Austria and Nazi Germany in 1938).[3]

Algeria began their campaign by recording a shock 2–1 win over West Germany on the opening day, described as the "greatest World Cup upset since North Korea beat Italy in 1966",[4] and as "one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history".[5] Algeria became the first African and Arab team to defeat a European team at the FIFA World Cup. They then went on to lose 0–2 to Austria before beating Chile 3–2 in their final match. Algeria's victory over Chile made them the first ever African and Arab team to win twice at a World Cup.[5]

As Algeria played that final match the day before West Germany met Austria, the two European teams knew what result they needed in order to qualify for the next round. A German win by one or two goals would see both West Germany and Austria qualify. A larger West German victory, by three goals or more, would see West Germany and Algeria qualify (because Algeria had scored more goals than Austria, they would qualify even with the same goal difference), while a draw or an Austrian win would eliminate the Germans.

After ten minutes of furious attack, West Germany succeeded in scoring through a goal by Horst Hrubesch after a cross from the left. After the goal was scored, the team in possession of the ball often passed between themselves in their own half until an opposition player came into the vicinity of the ball, then the ball was then passed back to the goalkeeper. Isolated long balls were played into the opposition's half, with little consequence. There were few tackles, and both sets of players flamboyantly missed with apparently no attempt at accuracy whenever they shot on goal. The only Austrian player who seemed to make any effort at livening the game up was Walter Schachner, though he had little success, while one of the few serious attempts on net was made by Wolfgang Dremmler of West Germany.[2]

This performance was widely deplored by all observers. German ARD commentator Eberhard Stanjek at one point refused to comment on the game any longer. Austrian commentator Robert Seeger bemoaned the spectacle, and asked viewers to turn off their television sets. George Vecsey, a New York Times journalist, stated that the teams "seemed to work in concert", though added that proving such would be impossible.[4]El Comercio, the local newspaper, printed the match report in its crime section.[6]

Likewise, many spectators were not impressed and voiced their disgust with the players. Chants of "Fuera, fuera" ("Out, out"), "Argelia, Argelia" ("Algeria, Algeria"), and "Que se besen, que se besen" ("Let them kiss, let them kiss") were shouted by the Spanish crowd,[7] while angry Algerian supporters waved banknotes at the players. The match was criticized even by the German and Austrian fans who had hoped for a hot rematch of the 1978 World Cup match, the so-called "Miracle of Córdoba", in which Austria had beaten West Germany; one German fan burned the national flag in protest.[8][9]

With West Germany's 1–0 victory, they joined Austria and Algeria with four points in three matches. The teams were separated by goal difference, with West Germany and Austria progressing to the next round of the tournament at the expense of Algeria. The match-fixing saw Austria give up their opportunity to be first in the group (by winning or drawing the match) in exchange for a sure opportunity to advance. The bargaining positions of the two teams were affected by West Germany being in danger of elimination if they failed to win, but also being the better team.[10] By coming second in the group, Austria's second-stage group was France and Northern Ireland. West Germany's opponents were hosts Spain and England who had previously beaten France.

After the match, the West German team went back to their hotel where they were met by furious spectators who threw eggs and other projectiles at them. German and Austrian television commentators were so appalled at the match that they urged viewers on live television to stop watching the match and watch something else. The Algerian football officials lodged an official protest. In addition, the president of the Algerian Football Federation opined that referee Bob Valentine should have intervened and his failure to do so was worthy of complaint.[11] However, FIFA considered that no rules were broken as a result of the match, and declined to take any action. Both teams denied any collusion during the match.[12] West Germany manager Jupp Derwall defended his team from the criticism, pointing out that Uli Stielike and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge were both unfit.[13] The West Germans made it to the final, where they lost to Italy 3–1. Austria fell at the next group stage, to the benefit of eventual fourth-place finishers France.

As a result of the game, from the Euro 1984 and World Cup 1986 onward, the final pair of group matches in international tournaments always start at the same time.[14]